The Greatest Game Ever Played
by The Wandering Delusion
Summary: Orihime is brought before Aizen to play a game. Not just any game, but a war game. The pieces? The Soul Reapers and The Arrancar. The stage? Karakura town during the Winter war. The purpose? To annihilate the opposing army. As Orihime is forced to play this horrible game with her friend's lives, she slowly finds herself becoming addicted to it. Let the Game begin.


Start

Orihime Inoue stared out the barred window of her room at the eternally crescent moon. The young auburn haired girl sighed as she glanced around the barren room where she was being kept. White. Nothing but plain white walls, white ceiling and white furniture, all of Las Noches was white. Orihime hated white.

Orihime loved exuberance, she loved passion, loved color, and she loved life. Unfortunately for the young woman, Hueco Mundo was severely lacking in all of these aspects. Orihime sighed again, there just wasn't terribly much of anything in Hueco Mundo.

Still… Orihime supposed it was rather appropriate. The dull color palate fit her mood. Here she was; trapped in a world of demonic creatures, held prisoner by the people who planned to kill her friends in the upcoming war.

'God.' Orihime thought. 'I wish I could do more for my friends, something that would help them in the Winter War.'

The door to her room suddenly opened and her captor strode into the room. A pair of shockingly green eyes stared impassively at her. His pale white complexion was a stark contrast to the green tear tracks and ebony hair. Ulquiorra Schiffer, the man who kidnapped her.

He was an Arrancar, even worse, an Espada. An enemy, a man sworn to destroying everything Orihime ever cared about. In the back of her mind, Orihime wondered if the tear tracks existed because they were the only way Ulquiorra could show emotion.

"Woman." Ulquiorra's deep voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Aizen wished to see you."

Scene Break

Orihime walked behind Ulquiorra as they made their way down the ridiculously large hallway. Her eyes stung slightly, since the painfully bright lights that illuminated the hall were a harsh adjustment from her perpetually dark room. She couldn't help but wonder how the Arrancar didn't get lost when, as far as Orihime could discern, every hall looked exactly the same.

Ulquiorra suddenly came to a halt and pushed open a door to his right. Orihime followed the pale Espada inside only to stop and stare at her surrounding in amazement. "Are…are we still in Las Noches?" She asked.

"What a foolish question. Of course we are." Ulquiorra responded.

It was like entering an oasis. Instead of barren fields of sand, Orihime found herself surrounded by lush greenery. Large palm trees formed a half circle around her, though she couldn't see very far out due to the thick foliage in between. Bushes filled with vibrantly colored flowers littered the area, nearly causing Orihime to go into sensory overload upon seeing such wonderful colors after being exposed to white for so long.

The ground was still sand, but not the coarse, rough, white sand of the outer desert. No, this sand was rich and smooth, almost like silk on Orihime's fingers as she bent down to run her hand through the fine grains.

It was far darker than the fully lit hallway Orihime had just left, though some of the artificial light was shining in from the still open door. Orihime tilted her head upwards, expecting to see a ceiling of some kind. Instead, Orihime's eyes stared up at the most beautiful night sky she had ever seen. Unlike the oppressive, black, starless sky of Hueco Mundo, where the only light came from the yellow crescent moon, this sky was deep blue, littered with millions of twinkling stars. High in sky floated the biggest full moon Orihime had ever seen. It bathed the entire area with its silvery blue luminance.

Logically, Orihime knew that she couldn't be gazing at a real sky and that she was still within Las Noches. However, it was hard to believe considering all the information her senses were supplying her with. The sights of the trees, the soft scent of the surrounding flowers, even the soft breeze that swept past the young woman.

Still, for all the wonder that surrounded her, Orihime had to wonder; why? Something this elaborate couldn't have been easy to create. She highly doubted that the Arrancar would request something like this, though to be fair, Orihime had only been exposed to a few of them during her stay here. Besides that, Aizen didn't strike her as the type to waste time and energy on pointless, frivolous projects, though again, Orihime didn't know much about the man. Come to think of it, did anybody really _know_ Aizen? A couple hundred Soul Reapers thought they did and he had fooled them all.

The question remained, if no one in Las Noches would require such a place, then why was it built? What was Aizen trying to achieve by building this area? Was he trying to trick and entice Orihime to his side with friendlier environments? Perhaps he was simply showing off why he considered himself worthy of sitting on Heaven's Throne, able to create life and beauty in a dead world.

Frankly, Orihime didn't like the thought of either.

"Are you quite finished?" Ulquiorra's voice once again snapped Orihime out of her thoughts. She realized she had been staring at the sky and he was waiting for her. It was an oddly polite gesture coming from him.

Seemingly sensing what Orihime was thinking, Ulquiorra spoke. "Aizen ordered me to bring you to him. I can't simply arrive without you. Now come."

The Espada turned on his heel and began walking up a clearly defined path between the trees that led up a large hill, though Orihime couldn't see what was on top. The young woman followed Ulquiorra up the hill, while still admiring the scenery around her. They reached the top of the hill and the tree line opened up, allowing Orihime an unblocked view of her surroundings. Despite herself, a gasp of amazement escaped from Orihime's throat..

She was standing of the edge of a cliff and Orihime could see for miles as a desert stretched out before. Again, the differences to Hueco Mundo were apparent. As opposed to the flat, sprawling wasteland with an occasional quartz tree, this desert was filled with dips and dunes along with hills and crests. In the distance, Orihime could make out a set of monstrous mountain ranges that seemed to circle the entire desert. All of this was still illuminated by the beautiful full moon. Orihime didn't know what kind of statement Aizen was making with this place, but he was most certainly going all out for it.

So distracted by the breath taking view, Orihime took a moment to notice the cobblestone path that led to her apparent destination. The girl was slightly unnerved by the sight before her. It was a pool, a rectangular, man-made pool. It was framed by a series of palm trees and plants, but was still able to overlook the landscape. The water was illuminated by submerged lights and Orihime realized that their must be other lights hidden among the plants given how bright the area was.

What really drew Orihime's attention was a small circular platform made of the same white stone all of Las Noches seemed to be constructed from. Two small bridges connected the platform to the edges of the pool. On this platform, there was a square table covered in a white table cloth and two chairs situated on either side. Currently sitting in one of these chairs, was Aizen.

He was drinking tea and, to Orihime's surprise, seemed to be finishing off a steak. "Ah, Orihime. I've been expecting you." Aizen said as Orihime slowly made her way across the bridge towards the table. Aizen gestured to the empty seat across from him. "Please, do take a seat. I apologize; you caught me just as I was finishing dinner." The ruler of Las Noches calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin as Orihime lowered herself into the chair.

"Now then, I trust that you have already been fed?" Aizen asked while pushing his plate to the side and propping his elbows onto the table. Orihime nodded slowly while frowning slightly at the empty plate.

The fact that Aizen needed to eat humanized him in a way she wasn't sure she liked. Until now, Aizen had been something of a distant figure. Orihime had only been in the same room as him twice, once when she healed Grimmjow and again when he showed her the Hogyoku. Both times Aizen had acted in a surreal manner, seemingly calmly amused by everything around him. Not only that, but even with Orihime's admittedly weak ability to perceive spiritual energy, she could tell that Aizen was powerful, so powerful he seemed to be a completely different being from Orihime. Which he was, considering he was a Soul Reaper while she was still human.

Now though, Orihime was staring face to face with the traitor to all of Soul Society. The man who planned to wage war on her home town and kill everyone there. Despite all this, Aizen was just sitting there, enjoying the afterglow of what appeared to be a delicious meal. It made Orihime face the fact that Aizen was a person, a deranged megalomaniac, but still a person.

"Thank you, Ulquiorra. You're dismissed." Aizen said.

"Yes sir." Orihime glanced behind her to see the Espada give a small bow before turning around and disappearing into the trees. Now she was alone. Alone with her greatest enemy. Terrific.

Aizen spoke again. "Now then, I've brought you here for a specific purpose, Orihime. I must admit I'm rather excited about it, so let's not delay." With a sudden flourish, Aizen whisked the table cloth away, not only causing his plate to vanish, but revealing what appeared to be a model of a city that Orihime would bet money hadn't been there before.

With a small pang, Orihime recognized the city as Karakura town. She then realized that a thin sheet of glass was place over the city and small, even squares like a chess board were drawn over it. On Orihime's side of the board was a group of miniature primarily dressed in all black. Orihime gasped as she recognized the various Captains and Lieutenants of Soul Society. There were even figures of herself, Uryuu, Chad, and Ichigo. The figures all appeared to be scale models with lifelike features and incredible amounts of detail.

Across the board, Aizen smirked over his own set of white figures. Orihime managed to recognize a few of the Espada and assumed the rest were all real Arrancar as well. There were also figures for Aizen, Tosen, and Gin as well. "As you can see," Aizen gestured to board. "I want to play a little game with you, Orihime."

Orihime just stared at the rouge captain. "You're serious?"

Aizen nodded. "Very. You will control Soul Society and I, of course, will control my Arrancar. The winner is whoever eliminates the opposing side's forces first. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Orihime stared down at the board. The opposing sides were fairly even. The front of Aizen's forces consisted Arrancar Orihime didn't recognize, but she assumed they were the Fraccion, the servants of the Espada. Speaking of which, ten Arrancar stood in a row behind the Fraccion. Orihime only recognized three of the Espada. There was Yami, the tall, dark skinned man who nearly ripped off Chad's arm, Grimmjow, the blue-haired maniac who killed his replacement after Orihime healed his arm, And Ulquiorra, her pale skinned captor. Standing behind the Espada were the three traitorous captains.

On Orihime's side stood the ten remaining captains, though not all the lieutenants were present. Yamamato, Unohana, Shunsui, Kempachi, and Ukitake were all without their second-in-commands. Though Ukitake had Rukia and Kempachi had his 3rd and 5th seats, Ikkaku and Yumichika.

Orihime's eyes finally rested on the figures of her and her friends. She picked up her own figure to examine it. The likeness and detail was extraordinary. From her perfectly colored hair to her slightly larger than average feet, the proportions and coloring were perfect, though Orihime was slightly insulted by the fact that the figure was dressed in a white Arrancar uniform.

She set the piece down on the board and returned her gaze to Aizen. "How do you play?" Orihime asked.

Aizen smirk widened slightly. "I've found that it's best to play this game without any knowledge first, then learning the rules later. It helps to make the experience more interesting."

Orihime silently contemplated her options. She wasn't sure what Aizen's angle was, but really what else did she have to lose? "Alright, I'll play."

Aizen's smirk widened even further. "Excellent." He raised his right and snapped his fingers. A deep rumbling filled the air as the sand in the valley they were overlooking began to churn. Massive grey shapes began to rise from the sand. It took Orihime a moment to realize they were buildings. When the rumbling stopped and the buildings were all in place, Orihime found herself staring down at a full scale replica of Karakura Town. "What do you think, my dear?" Aizen asked.

Orihime was too amazed by the sight before her to properly think about her answer, so she just said the first thing that came to her mind. "I think you have way too much time on your hands."

Aizen didn't seem offended, he actually looked amused. "Oh, you haven't even seen the best part." As if on cue, people began appearing over the city, in the exact same positions as on the board in front of her.

These weren't simple figurines, however. Orihime was looking at what appeared to be living, flesh and blood people. They were floating above the city, not moving or speaking, just floating there. Orihime found it slightly surreal looking a clone of herself standing among her friends, looking incredibly out of place dressed in white among a sea of black. She took a small amount of comfort in the fact that Uryuu was also dressed in white.

"You see, Orihime," Aizen spoke. "We control the players from here." He gestured to the table. "And they respond down there." To demonstrate, Aizen picked up the Grimmjow figurine and place it in the middle of the board. The Grimmjow replica down below moved in the same way. "Let's begin."

Orihime hesitated for a moment before picking up Ichigo's piece and moving it in front of Grimmjow. Once both replicas were facing each other, Aizen placed his finger on Grimmjow's figure and spoke. "Grimmjow attacks Ichigo." The blue haired Espada drew his sword and slashed at Ichigo. The Soul Reaper blocked the blade with Zangetsu.

"Ah yes, Zangetsu's size gives Ichigo a decent defense rating, but Grimmjow's strength stat is still higher. He overpowers Ichigo." Grimmjow increased the pressure on Ichigo's sword, causing the weapon to be smacked away and Grimmjow's sword to slash down Ichigo's chest. Blood squirted from the wound.

Orihime froze. She hadn't expected to see any blood. Just what kind of game was this?

Grimmjow pressed his advantage and began raining slashed down on Ichigo. The orange haired Soul Reaper could only pathetically attempt to block the attacks. Orihime didn't understand why Ichigo wouldn't strike back, he was only defending. A thought suddenly occurred to Orihime. She placed her finger on Ichigo's figure and said. "I-Ichigo attacks Grimmjow."

Ichigo suddenly swatted Grimmjow's sword away and brought Zangetsu down onto the Espada's shoulder. Nothing happened. Orihime was staring at the replica's, wondering why Ichigo's attack hadn't done anything.

"All Arrancar have high defense rates due to their Hierro. Ichigo's Shikai doesn't have the strength necessary to penetrate Grimmjow's skin." Aizen supplied. "Grimmjow counterattacks."

The Sixth Espada began to once again wildly slash at Ichigo, who was having even more difficulty blocking than before. Desperate to help her friend, Orihime grabbed Chad's piece and moved him towards the fight, hoping the extra support would help Ichigo.

Aizen smirked and placed a finger on Ulquiorra's figure. "Ulquiorra attacks Chad with Cero." A green blast shot out of Ulquiorra's finger towards Chad. The blast was too fast for the dark skinned teenager to dodge. The Cero struck Chad directly in the chest, blowing a horrifically large hole through his torso and vaporizing his heart.

"Chad!" Orihime wailed as her friend fell to the ground and vanished among the buildings. On the game board, the square where Chad's figure was placed opened up, swallowing the small figure before resealing.

"Chad has died and has been removed from play." Aizen smirked. Tears were beginning to fall down Orihime's face. She hadn't expected anything like this! This wasn't some game! She just watched her friend die!

A cry of pain made Orihime realize that Ichigo was losing against Grimmjow. Something Aizen had said permeated Orihime's brain. He had said that Ichigo's Shikai wasn't strong enough to damage Grimmjow. Beginning to grasp how this game worked, She placed her hand on Ichigo's figure. "Ichigo activates Bankai."

Aizen smirked. "Very good."

Both the figurine on the board and the replica on the playing field were consumed in black and scarlet energy. The Substitute Soul Reaper emerged wearing his torn long coat and holding Tensa Zangetsu.

"Ichigo attacks Grimmjow."

The orange haired soul reaper exploded into action, furiously slashing at and Flash Stepping around Grimmjow. However, to Orihime's shock, Grimmjow began moving equally fast, vanishing and reappearing while attacking Ichigo.

"Ichigo's Bankai gives him a high speed boost, but it still only puts him on equal footing with Grimmjow's speed." Despite how fast Ichigo was moving, Grimmjow met each and every strike with one of his own. Aizen was right, the two were equal in speed.

Ichigo needed some form of edge against Grimmjow to win. Orihime suddenly recalled a conversation she had had with Ichigo. She had been curious about his Bankai and he had explained his sword's special ability. It was a long range attack called…

"Ichigo attacks Grimmjow with the Getsuga Tensho!"

Ichigo leapt backwards, his zanpakuto held above his head. Black and red energy began building around the weapon. He slashed downward; the dark energy formed a crescent as it sliced through the air towards the Espada.

Unprepared for the sudden attack, Grimmjow crossed his arms in front of his face and took the full brunt of the attack. A nasty diagonal slash went from the Espada's raised arms down to his waist. Despite being a serious blow, Grimmjow was clearly far from finished.

Aizen spoke. "Grimmjow attacks Ichigo with the Gran Rey Cero."

Instead of the red blast Orihime had expected, a bright blue Cero, twice the size of any Cero she had ever seen, erupted from Grimmjow's hand. "Ichigo uses Getsuga Tensho!" Orihime called, hoping to deflect the attack in some way.

Ichigo launched another crescent of dark energy that impacted with Grimmjow's Cero. Black and blue energy competed with each other, but to Orihime's horror, The Cero blasted through the Getsuga Tensho.

Ichigo was consumed by the blast.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried. Tears stung her eyes as she watched the man she loved be vaporized. "No…no." Orihime said weakly. This couldn't be happening, she didn't want to see this.

"Ichigo has died and been removed from play." Those words echoed in Orihime's mind. Ichigo has died.

'No!' She mentally screamed at herself. It wasn't Ichigo, it was just a replica that looked like him. He was still alive, safe in the real Karakura Town. He's not dead. He's not dead. He's not dead. He's not dead.

Orihime's mental mantra was interrupted by Aizen. "Orihime, you really should make a move." Orihime violently shook her head. She wasn't going to play this sick game with him. "No? You were doing well for your first time, are you sure? I suppose this game won't last much longer then."

Scene Break

It was a brutal slaughter. Without Orihime controlling them, Soul Society was unable to even defend themselves as Aizen's Arrancar army tore them to shreds. Orihime slammed her hands over her ears and shut her eyes, desperately trying to block out the horrible images. Despite her best efforts, she could still here the screams.

When the noises finally stopped, Orihime tentatively opened her eyes. She made a point to keep her gaze away from the playing field and focused on the board. Her side of the board was completely empty while Aizen hadn't lost a single piece.

"Don't worry, Orihime." Aizen smirked. "The first game is always the worst. You'll grow used to it in time."

Orihime stared at Aizen in horror. "We're going to play again?"

"Not tonight, no." He said with a dismissive wave. "It's best to only play once a night. We will play again soon though." Before Orihime could reply, Aizen got to his feet. "Good night, Orihime." The traitorous Captain turned on his heel and walked off into the foliage.

Orihime stared at the spot where he had disappeared for a moment, before moving her gaze down to the small model of her hometown. She probably would have stayed there all night if not for a hand being placed on her shoulder.

The orange haired woman turned to find herself staring up at the grinning face of Gin Ichimaru. "Hey there, Princess. Ready to go back to your room?" Numbly, Orihime got to her feet and followed the former captain. Gin led her down the path and out into the hallway, chatting the whole way.

"I saw your little game with Aizen. My, my I hope your little friends do better in the actual fight than they did with you. Mm-hmm, it was certainly hard to watch. It's a shame you didn't try a little harder, maybe you could of saved a couple of them. Then again, probably not."

Orihime said nothing, too shocked by what she had witnessed. She just let the man blather away. "Ah well, doesn't matter much anyway, does it? It's just a game, right? It's not like your real friends were wiped out while you just stood there instead of helping them. Ah! Here we are. Nighty-night, Princess."

Gin didn't even break his stride when they came to Orihime's room. The young woman stared at Gin's retreating form for a moment, wondering what went on in that man's mind, before she entered her room. Orihime collapsed onto her bed and sobbed herself to sleep.

End

A/N: I've had this idea kicking around in my mind for the longest time and I just had to get it written out. I'm not sure if I should continue with it, so I figured I would just put out there and see what the response is. If you like it and want to see more, let me know.


End file.
